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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26866039">A New Challenger Appears</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keyseeker/pseuds/Keyseeker'>Keyseeker</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fluff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:40:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>922</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26866039</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keyseeker/pseuds/Keyseeker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kagami's never played a video game before. </p><p>Adrien aims to rectify that.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Kagami Tsurugi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>74</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A New Challenger Appears</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So not my usual fare, but I decided to branch out and give writing Adrigami a try!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You’ve never played a video game?!”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami shook her head.</p><p> </p><p>The two of them had been chatting about various competitions they’d been in. She’d listed a series of fencing tournaments she’d done well in, while Adrien talked about something called “Mecha Strike III”, and a class tournament he’d come in second place at.</p><p> </p><p>“Mother never saw the point of such distractions. Anything that didn't help to further my mental or physical development was deemed a hindrance.”</p><p> </p><p>Her boyfriend paused, searching her face for a moment. “...would you like to try?”</p><p> </p><p>Would she?</p><p> </p><p>Truthfully, she didn’t see the point of them either.</p><p> </p><p>But… Adrien seemed to like them.</p><p> </p><p>Maybe it was worth taking a chance on.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, I would.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p>“Where are we going?”</p><p> </p><p>Adrien’d called for a break partway through fencing practice, telling Mr. D’argencourt that he was getting tired and needed to cool off for a bit.</p><p> </p><p>Which made no sense to her. She could always tell when he was getting tired, with how sloppy he got. If anything he seemed to be buzzing with energy, more lively than usual.</p><p> </p><p>As he’d left he’d turned to their fencing teacher, giving him a long, slow wink.</p><p> </p><p>Why…?</p><p> </p><p>According to the books she’d been reading on body language (as good as she was at predicting an opponent’s moves during a match based on how they held themselves, predicting their thoughts and feelings outside of it was extremely difficult for her), a ‘wink’ was often a way people conveyed that there was a hidden meaning behind their actions or words.</p><p> </p><p>Considering that Adrien had gone right through the locker room (after they’d both taken off their gear) and was heading upstairs, gesturing for her to follow him, she had a feeling something more was going on.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t worry, I arranged this with D’argencourt beforehand. If anyone asks, I got severe stomach cramps and wasn’t able to finish the practice. Sadly you were unable to do more than practice alone as best you could.”</p><p> </p><p>Oooh… one of THESE.</p><p> </p><p>Wasn’t exactly the first time they’d used fencing practice as an excuse to sneak out. </p><p> </p><p>These excursions always promised to be memorable.</p><p> </p><p>Holding open a classroom door, he gestured for her to enter. </p><p> </p><p>Inside a giant TV greeted them, a device hooked up to it on the floor.</p><p> </p><p>A screen filled with many different strange mechs blared invigorating music.</p><p> </p><p>“Mecha Strike III?”</p><p> </p><p>He grinned at her. “Father would never let me have you over just to play video games and I’m betting your mother’s even LESS likely to let you go so I thought, why not just try it here?”</p><p> </p><p>Pulling up a large bean bag, he plopped down on one side, motioning for her to sit beside him.</p><p> </p><p>Settling down, he put his arms around her as he gripped the controller. A bit of an awkward position, but right now she didn’t really care.</p><p> </p><p>Physical affection was rare in her household, and with not having any friends or… well, really anyone else before Adrien?</p><p> </p><p>Both of them melted into each other’s touch.</p><p> </p><p>He selected a fighter. It took a bit of adjusting for his hands to be free and his field of vision to be clear with her laying on his lap, but eventually they managed it.</p><p> </p><p>Huh. A black-and-green cat-like mech. </p><p> </p><p>Not what she’d expected from him - he’d always been a huge Ladybug fan, so she’d figured he’d choose the mech that looked more like her - but she approved.</p><p> </p><p>This mech reminded her of Chat Noir.</p><p>Chat Noir… she hadn’t had the opportunity to talk to him - to talk to either of Paris’s resident superhero duo really - as often as she’d like to.</p><p> </p><p>Still, whenever she HAD had the chance, he’d been kind and sweet - if sometimes a bit goofy.</p><p> </p><p>He’d held her so gently as he took her back after being purified from her second akumatization…</p><p> </p><p>“This button performs a basic kick, and this one’s a grapple, and when you combine them together…”</p><p> </p><p>He played a quick level against an AI opponent, showing off the various combos.</p><p> </p><p>Turning to her, he smiled, arcing an eyebrow. “Are you ready to give it a shot?”</p><p> </p><p>Oh.</p><p> </p><p>OH</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> A challenge. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>She took the second controller from him. “Are you ready to lose?”</p><p> </p><p>He threw back his head and laughed, a gleam in his eye.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>The first few times, she lost badly.</p><p> </p><p>He let her get her bearings first, just trying out various button combinations before entering the match proper.</p><p> </p><p>She studied his every move, her eyes flicking between his hands on the controller and the action on-screen.</p><p> </p><p>It likely made her defeats those first few times even more lopsided with her attention split like that, but the intel she gained from it more than made up for it.</p><p> </p><p>The combos of button presses began to feel more natural, muscle memory taking over.</p><p> </p><p>Her mech was an extension of herself, much as her foil was.</p><p> </p><p>Block, parry, grapple-</p><p>It wasn’t dissimilar to her fights on the mat.</p><p> </p><p>And she aimed to win.</p><p> </p><p>“Winner: Kagami!”</p><p> </p><p>Adrien’s mouth formed an “O”, his eyes widening.</p><p> </p><p>She smirked. “Ready for another round?”</p><p> </p><p>They played three more, trading wins and losses back and forth, before they had to call it quits. Mr. D’argencourt and Gorilla could only cover for them for so long.</p><p> </p><p>Adrien gave her a cheeky grin. “My class is holding another mini Mecha Strike III tournament next week. What a shame that it happens during one of our fencing practices.”</p><p> </p><p>Oooh.</p><p> </p><p>She smiled back, giving him a wink. “Yes. A shame.”</p>
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